Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will use to assess whether its target of encouraging more sustainable agricultural activity on 13,500 farm businesses in Scotland’s remote hills by 2006 as referred to in the environment and rural affairs section of its Draft Budget 2003-04 has been met.

Ross Finnie: Support to farm businesses in Scotland’s remote hills is provided through the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme. Maintaining the number of claimants at or above 13,500 indicates that the scheme is helping to maintain agricultural activity in Scotland’s hills. Work is on-going within the Executive to establish appropriate indicators of sustainability.

Audiology

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19825 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001, when the review of audiology services will be published.

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it has given to any proposals for a degree course based in Scotland for the education and training of audiologists.

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates that a degree course based in Scotland for the education and training of audiologists will commence.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Following consideration of the preliminary staffing report, submitted by the Audiology Services Review Group, the Executive undertook to explore the development and establishment of a Scottish BSc in Audiology to commence in September 2003.

  Business proposals received in response to invitations for proposals from higher education institutions indicated that the costs involved would be well in excess of original estimate.

  Since time was already very tight to allow institutions to establish, advertise, and recruit students and staff, the decision was taken to defer the start of the course. It will now be considered alongside the other recommendations of the final report. The consultation version of the final report was received by the department on 31 October.

Cancer

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to allowing patients living in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen access to trials in experimental treatment and randomised controlled trials in the treatment of malignant brain tumours.

Malcolm Chisholm: An additional £1 million has been made available to support the planned Scottish Cancer Research Network (SCRN) which is expected to at least double patient entry into clinical trials. The network is expected to be fully established by April 2003.

  Participation in clinical trials is subject to patient eligibility against preset research criteria and patient choice.

Cancer

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to the establishment of a Scottish neuro-oncology network that can allow and encourage patients to have access to national and international clinical trials in the treatment of malignant brain tumours and what is being done to facilitate such a development.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30879 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The Scottish Executive’s strategy for all cancers is to ensure patients have access to the best care possible through tumour specific multidisciplinary managed clinical networks involving clinicians drawn from among relevant disciplines.

Central Heating

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each local authority area have applied for central heating through the EAGA Partnership (Scotland).

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is in each local authority area from application to installation of central heating through the EAGA Partnership (Scotland) for those who meet the priority criteria.

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is in each local authority area from application to installation of central heating through the EAGA Partnership (Scotland) for those who do not meet the priority criteria.

Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30388 on 22 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Central Heating

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contractors in each local authority area are involved in installation of central heating through the EAGA Partnership (Scotland).

Hugh Henry: The areas assigned to the companies that work for Eaga Partnership do not follow local authority boundaries.

Charities

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the report Private Action, Public Benefit - A Review of Charities and the Wider Not-For-Profit Sector by the Strategy Unit of the Cabinet Office and whether it will initiate an equivalent review.

Mr Jim Wallace: The report covers both reserved and devolved matters. In relation to the devolved matters the Executive will publish its response to the report of the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission next month. This response will cover similar issues to those raised in the Strategy Unit report. The Strategy Unit report also addresses issues relating to the development of social economy organisations. These will be addressed by the Executive's Social Economy report which we aim to publish shortly. There is therefore no need for the Executive to initiate an equivalent review.

Charities

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to legislate on the basis of the report of the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission, CharityScotland .

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21447 on 21 January 2002. The Executive will publish its response to the commission’s report next month. The position on the legislative timetable remains unchanged. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which, and what percentage, of its publications produced by the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department from May 1999 to June 2002 refer people to the Citizens Advice Bureau service for advice and assistance and whether Citizens Advice Scotland is made aware of such referrals prior to publication.

Mr Andy Kerr: No publications produced by the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department from May 1999 to June 2002 referred people to the Citizens Advice Bureau service. The Executive will make Citizens Advice Scotland aware of any such referrals prior to publication.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which, and what percentage, of its publications produced by the Health Department from May 1999 to June 2002 refer people to the Citizens Advice Bureau service for advice and assistance and whether Citizens Advice Scotland is made aware of such referrals prior to publication.

Malcolm Chisholm: No publications produced by the Health Department from May 1999 to June 2002 referred people to the Citizens Advice Bureau service. The Executive will make Citizens Advice Scotland aware of any such referrals prior to publication.

Civil Servants

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any input into the assessment of performance of Senior Civil Servants and, if so, how this is achieved.

Mr Andy Kerr: Apart from the Permanent Secretary, the assessment of performance for Senior Civil Servants, like all other staff in the Scottish Executive is carried out by their line managers. There is no formal role for ministers in this process. The First Minister does, however, have the opportunity to comment on the Permanent Secretary’s performance as an input to the pay and performance management process of salary determination.

Communities

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make funding directly available to community bodies in its promotion of community empowerment as well as to partnerships to which community bodies have to apply for a share of such funding.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does currently provide direct grant support across a number of policy areas to the voluntary and community sectors where the projects funded are likely to have national benefits - whether as a national resource, or in building understanding and learning about particular issues of national importance.

Crofting

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the Crofters Commission to make information available to Mr and Mrs J Ramsay, 9 Veensgarth, Tingwall, Shetland, relating to a decision taken over an apportionment currently being denied and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Ross Finnie: I have been assured that all existing information relevant to the decision taken by the Crofters Commission has now been sent to Mr and Mrs Ramsay.

  I understand that the Crofters Commission intends to offer Mrs Ramsay a hearing on the decision relating to her apportionment on the understanding that the original decision and the conditions attached to it could be modified in the light of any relevant evidence presented.

Crofting

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been, or are being, taken to ensure that reports submitted by its Environment and Rural Affairs Department to the Crofters Commission on the decision-making process over apportionments are fair and impartial; what monitoring takes place of such reports, and whether any appeal over the content of such reports is allowed.

Ross Finnie: The Crofters Commission employs the services of locally based agricultural staff of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department to compile reports relating to apportionment applications. In carrying out these responsibilities, the agricultural staff are expected to take a fair and impartial view and follow guidance from the Crofters Commission. They apply their professional and technical judgement in assessing the information obtained through inspection and discussion with the applicant and other affected parties and aim to ensure that all aspects of a case are brought out in the report. At all times they are expected to operate to the Scottish Executive Aim, Vision and Values. Those values include integrity, honesty, objectivity, political impartiality and fairness.

  Reports are monitored and countersigned by a senior officer. There is also a system of Quality Management Checks whereby an office manager ensures consistency of standard and impartiality. These are random checks so the officer concerned cannot know which cases may be selected. In addition the Crofters Commission will make the report available, on request, to the person applying for the apportionment.

  A reporting officer may make a recommendation but the Crofters Commission decides each application and may or may not accept such a recommendation.

  There is currently no mechanism for an appeal against the content of a report made to the Crofters Commission by a member of the agricultural staff of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department.

Crofting

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are applied to ensure that the Crofters Commission follows its rules of operating procedure in relation to decision-making and what right of appeal is open to an individual crofter over decisions made by the commission.

Ross Finnie: The Board of Commissioners of the Crofters Commission set and revise the rules and procedures that govern the way the Crofters Commission undertakes its various regulatory functions. Paragraph 11 of schedule 1 to the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 provides that the commission has power to regulate its own procedure. The current rules are the Rules of Procedure of the Crofters Commission 1999. The commission may change the rules and procedures from time to time but must clear their proposals with the Scottish Committee of the Council for Tribunals. The rules and procedures must also, at all times, be consistent with the statutory requirements of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993.

  It is for the Chairman, the Board of Commissioners and the Chief Executive of the Crofters Commission to ensure that in its day to day operations the Crofters Commission operates in accordance with its own rules and procedures. Anyone who considers that there was a failure to do so should raise their concerns with either the Chairman or the Chief Executive of the commission who will review the case to ensure that it has been properly and fairly handled in accordance with these rules and procedures. If after such action there are unresolved concerns about the handling of the case that suggest there has been maladministration, it would be appropriate to pursue the matter with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Alternatively, if it is believed that the Crofters Commission acted unlawfully or that a decision made by the commission was unreasonable then the more appropriate recourse might be to seek judicial review of the decision taken by the Crofters Commission.

Deaf and Hearing-impaired People

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children of school age are deaf or hearing-impaired, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive, through its annual school census, collects information on the main learning difficulty of all pupils attending special schools and those pupils with a Record of Needs who attend publicly funded or independent mainstream schools. Figures for 2001 are provided in the following table.

  Number of Pupils in Publicly Funded Schools Whose Main Difficulty in Learning is a Hearing Impairment, by Local Authority

  


Local Authority 
  

Pupils 
  



Scotland 
  

572 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

20 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

19 
  



Angus 
  

6 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

6 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

* 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

10 
  



Dundee City 
  

26 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

21 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

8 
  



East Lothian 
  

6 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

8 
  



Edinburgh City 
  

70 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

* 
  



Falkirk 
  

18 
  



Fife 
  

24 
  



Glasgow City 
  

99 
  



Highland 
  

23 
  



Inverclyde 
  

19 
  



Midlothian 
  

* 
  



Moray 
  

12 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

17 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

55 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

* 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

* 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

9 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

* 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

* 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

11 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

48 
  



Stirling 
  

* 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

8 
  



West Lothian 
  

11 
  



  Source: September 2001 School Census.

  Notes:

  *Denotes a figure less than six.

  1. Figures show pupils who have a hearing impairment only as their main difficulty in learning, excluding those pupils with multiple impairments.

  2. Figures show pupils in mainstream schools with a Record of Needs and all pupils based in special schools. A small number may be outwith school age.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address repeat domestic abuse.

Ms Margaret Curran: Repeat victimisation is, by its nature, a characteristic of domestic abuse and therefore all action taken to address domestic abuse will address repeat domestic abuse.

  Police databases now record repeat victimisation in order to provide a full account of the abuse experienced by individual victims and ensure an appropriate response. Police Domestic Abuse Liaison Officers provide support to repeat victims.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to ensure that domestic abuse cases reach the courts.

Ms Margaret Curran: A working group established by the National Group to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland has carried out a review of legislation and practice relating to domestic abuse.

  The working group made a number of recommendations for improvement and these are currently being considered by the Executive.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any evaluation has been made of any effects of action taken by police in respect of domestic abuse on stopping further incidents of such abuse and, if not, whether there are any plans to carry out such an evaluation.

Mr Jim Wallace: There has not been a centrally commissioned evaluation of any effects of action taken by police in respect of domestic abuse on stopping further incidents of such abuse and there are no plans to commission any such evaluation.

  However, most police forces in Scotland now record repeat incidents of domestic abuse in order to provide a full account of the abuse experienced by individual victims and ensure an appropriate response.

Drug Misuse

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on drug-related activities has been in each year since 1998-99, broken down by expenditure on crime, education, rehabilitation and treatment, in (a) Renfrewshire and (b) Paisley North.

Dr Richard Simpson: Information on drug-related expenditure is not held on a constituency basis. Resources for Paisley North are incorporated in the budgets for the Argyll and Clyde Drug Action Team area. Similarly, expenditure in the Renfrewshire area is incorporated in budgets for the Greater Glasgow Drug Action Team and the Argyll and Clyde Drug Action Teams areas, and it is not separately identifiable.

Eating Disorders

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the training provided to general practitioners and community psychiatrists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of anorexia nervosa.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Scottish Executive Health Department held an event in October, to discuss how to improve implementation of the Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland. At this, proposals to provide better support and training for primary care teams in the diagnosis and treatment of all mental health problems, including eating disorders, were considered.

  As a result, it has been proposed that mental health becomes a pilot group for workforce development. This pilot will involve working with key stakeholders at local, regional and national levels to determine the gap between the skills required and the existing skills set in the mental health workforce which will include those working for partner agencies.

  At present, general practitioners are expected to look after their own personal learning needs to better provide the health needs of their patients and to seek training accordingly. Guidance and assistance is available to GPs from NHS Education for Scotland via the Postgraduate Directors of General Practice Education.

  Additional training for community psychiatrists in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems, including eating disorders is currently delivered through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes, which are organised and approved by the medical Royal Colleges. Guidance and assistance is available to hospital doctors from NHS Education for Scotland via the postgraduate deans and tutors.

European Convention on Human Rights

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost to it has been of Scott Davidson’s case against it in respect of alleged infringement of his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including its own legal costs and legal aid and court costs.

Mr Jim Wallace: Mr Davidson lodged a petition in October 2001 for judicial review of an alleged decision of the Scottish ministers to detain him in "slopping out" conditions, in breach of Article 3 of the ECHR. So far, there has been one hearing in the Outer House of the Court of Session and two hearings in the Inner House. The legal issues which have arisen in this case such as impartiality of the judiciary and the rights of courts to make interim orders against the Scottish ministers are significant and go beyond the ECHR compatibility of the conditions of the prisoner’s detention.

  Preparation for court proceedings is done by legal and administrative staff within the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Prison Service as part of their normal duties. Cost information is not available disaggregated to individual cases. The situation is the same for the courts. The court proceedings have been dealt with as part of the normal business of the courts involved. Information about legal aid costs is also not available for individual cases.

  Counsels’ fees so far incurred by the Executive are in the region of £95,000.

Ferry Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why NorthLink Orkney & Shetland Ferries Ltd is not using the existing general livestock trailers to provide safe and welfare-compliant passage for livestock from the northern isles to Aberdeen when the existing livestock shipping contract with P&O Scottish Ferries ceases.

Lewis Macdonald: The system used to carry livestock on ferries is an operational matter for the companies concerned, provided that the system complies with all the relevant statutory requirements.

Ferry Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with agricultural representatives, NorthLink Orkney & Shetland Ferries Ltd, Norse Island Ferries Ltd and Aberdeen Harbour Authority over the lairage currently available at Jamieson’s Quay, Aberdeen.

Lewis Macdonald: Officials are in regular contact with agricultural representatives, NorthLink and Aberdeen Harbour Board on a variety of issues including lairage at Jamieson’s Quay. No approach has been made to the Executive by Norse Island Ferries on the issue of lairage at any of the ports.

Ferry Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any funding has been, or is being, provided to NorthLink Orkney & Shetland Ferries Ltd for the purchase, lease or rent of six additional livestock trailers and what discussions have taken place with the agriculture industry in Shetland over such action.

Lewis Macdonald: I understand that NorthLink is renting the Livestock Trailers. The rental is one of the costs to the company of transporting livestock and the company will, in the normal course, recover those costs by the charge per head of livestock transported. In terms of the undertaking by the Scottish ministers approved by Parliament on 13 June this year, NorthLink can claim Tariff Rebate Subsidy from the Executive to cover a percentage of that total charge. I understand that NorthLink has had discussions with local National Farmers Union of Scotland office-bearers on this issue.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to its consultation document Registration of Sellers and Buyers of First Sale Fish , why a registration system is necessary; what the estimated cost of putting the system in place would be, and whether a registration system is required given that it is a proposal contained in the review of the Common Fisheries Policy and, under Council Regulation EEC 2847/93, it is not a requirement of EU legislation.

Ross Finnie: EU legislation (Council Regulation 2847/93) envisages that auction centres or other bodies or persons responsible for the first marketing of fishery products and therefore, the submission of sales notes to the control authorities shall be authorised by member states. The proposed system of designated auction centres and registered sellers currently under consultation with industry has been designed to allow the UK to comply with that provision with little or no change to current practice.

  The registration of buyers of first sale fish is not yet a requirement of EU legislation, although Regulation 2847/93 places responsibility for submission of the sales note on the buyer in circumstances where first marketing takes place other than through an authorised auction centre or other seller. The registration of buyers of fish is also proposed as part of the review of the CFP. It seems sensible, therefore, to propose also the registration of buyers, in anticipation of possible EC requirements; to ensure buyers of fish who may be responsible for submission of sales notes can be identified, and as a logical extension of traceability and control arrangements.

  The Fisheries Departments view the registration processes as simple and straightforward and unlikely to result in any additional costs to industry. Consultation and discussions continue with industry on detailed implementation arrangements, on which decisions remain to be taken.

Forensic Science

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been involved in any discussions about the review of forensic pathology services in England and Wales and, if so, what the outcome was.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The review of forensic pathology services in England and Wales was commissioned by the Home Office. The Scottish Executive was aware of the review and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provided information regarding the position in Scotland.

Forensic Science

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many departments of forensic medicine there are in Scottish universities and whether any of these departments are under threat of closure.

Iain Gray: This information is not held by the Scottish Executive.

  Information on the courses offered by higher education institutions can be found on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) website www.ucas.ac.uk or at learndirect scotland (www.learndirectscotland.com).

Forensic Science

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are for the teaching of medicine and law at Scottish universities if a medical school has no forensic medicine teaching.

Iain Gray: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for matters relating to the detail of course provision. The Scottish Executive has no locus in these decisions.

  In areas such as law and medicine institutions work with key professional bodies to ensure that provision meets the needs of their professions.

Forensic Science

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will rule out a homicide-only forensic service.

Mr Jim Wallace: The provision of forensic science services in Scotland is currently under review as part of the wider review of common police services. A project team has been established to examine the potential benefits of rationalisation and to recommend a future structure for forensic science services. It would be inappropriate for me to pre-empt the findings of the review.

Further Education

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to return the further education sector to local authority control and reintroduce a system of national pay and conditions bargaining and whether it plans to use any such powers to reintroduce a national pay and conditions structure covering all further education colleges.

Iain Gray: The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 established individual further education colleges as bodies corporate with responsibility for the contractual terms and conditions of college employees. There are no current plans by ministers to introduce a system of national pay and conditions for further education colleges.

  It is the Scottish ministers on whom the act places a duty to secure the provision of adequate and efficient further education in Scotland. That duty is currently exercised on their behalf by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The transfer of this duty to the local authorities would require legislative change.

Further Education

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will organise a public inquiry, involving representatives of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) College Lecturers’ Association, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and other appropriate bodies, into industrial relations across the further education sector, in the light of the recent dismissal of Jim Donovan at Central College of Commerce in Glasgow and the subsequent one-day strike and march and rally in support of him organised by EIS.

Iain Gray: There are no plans for such an enquiry. Industrial relations and employment issues within further education colleges, which are autonomous bodies in terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, are for the colleges themselves to address.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support has been offered to the people affected by the failure of the freezer tanks holding sperm samples at the Western General Hospital in July 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust established a telephone helpline, and those who asked for specialist appointments with fertility or genetic experts had these arranged quickly. Expert counselling from nurses specialising in oncology and in genetics was offered, and additional investigations were provided for those who requested them. All of this was undertaken quickly, and with the appropriate sensitivity.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available anti-coagulation self-monitoring strips to help patients monitor and test clotting times and thereby regulate the correct dosage of warfarin.

Malcolm Chisholm: Yes. CoaguChek testing strips will be added to the Scottish Drug Tariff as soon as appropriate guidance for users has been finalised and issued to NHS prescribers and dispensing contractors.

Housing

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its decision to exclude housing from its proposed system of local prudential indicators for capital expenditure for local authorities.

Ms Margaret Curran: In my Housing Policy Announcement to Parliament on 7 November, I stated my intention to include local authority housing capital finance within the new Prudential Regime.

Housing

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce prudential borrowing for local authority housing and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Ms Margaret Curran: In my Housing Policy Announcement to Parliament on 7 November, I stated my intention to include local authority housing capital finance within the new Prudential Regime.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reports were made to procurators fiscal, (b) proceedings were taken by procurators fiscal and (c) convictions were made under sections (i) 3(1), (ii) 4(1) and (iii) 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in each of the last three years, broken down by sheriff court district.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: Information is available from the Crown Office system about the number of cases received by procurators fiscal during the last three financial years that included charges under the section mentioned. Information is not available from that system in relation to the outcome of every such charge as only whole case outcomes are currently recorded.

  Some information is available from published Scottish Executive statistics about persons proceeded against and convicted where the main charge in the case was a contravention of the section mentioned. It should be noted that where a person is proceeded against for more that one crime or offence, only the "main charge" is recorded for Scottish Executive statistical purposes. The main charge is that which is the most serious and receives the severest penalty.

  This has a particular effect on drugs cases as most included charges for both section 4(3)(b) and 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Crown Office statistics record both charges but the Scottish Executive record only the "main charge". The figure for persons prosecuted (tables 4, 5 and 6) and convicted (tables 7, 8 and 9) will therefore tend to be far smaller than that for the number of cases reported (tables 1, 2 and 3).

  In addition, the recording period differs between the Scottish Executive and the Crown Office statistics. The former record a case when it receives its final disposal, the latter when it is first reported and the same case will therefore often appear in different recording years. Furthermore, the Crown Office statistics show the number of cases reported (many cases will have more than one accused) and the Scottish Executive figures show the number of persons proceeded against and convicted, although several persons may be included in the same report. For these reasons, it is not possible to relate the Crown Office data on incoming cases to the Scottish Executive data on proceedings and disposals.

  The information described is provided in the following tables.

  Table 1

  Cases Reported to Procurators Fiscal Which Included Charges Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Section 4(2), 1999-2000 to 2001-02

  

 

Financial Year 
  



Office 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen 
  

1 
  
 
 



Ayr 
  

2 
  
 

2 
  



Cupar 
  
 

1 
  

1 
  



Dingwall 
  

1 
  
 

1 
  



Dornoch 
  

1 
  
 

1 
  



Dumbarton 
  
 
 

2 
  



Dumfries 
  
 

4 
  

1 
  



Dundee 
  

2 
  

1 
  

3 
  



Dunfermline 
  

3 
  

3 
  

5 
  



Dunoon 
  

3 
  
 

1 
  



Edinburgh 
  

11 
  

18 
  

14 
  



Elgin 
  
 
 

1 
  



Falkirk 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Fort William 
  

1 
  
 
 



Glasgow 
  
 

3 
  

4 
  



Haddington 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 



Hamilton 
  

2 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Inverness 
  
 

3 
  
 



Jedburgh 
  

1 
  

2 
  

7 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

1 
  
 

2 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

2 
  

4 
  

9 
  



Kirkwall 
  
 
 

4 
  



Lanark 
  
 

2 
  
 



Linlithgow 
  

2 
  

1 
  

5 
  



Lochmaddy 
  
 
 

1 
  



Oban 
  
 

4 
  

1 
  



Paisley 
  
 

1 
  

4 
  



Peebles 
  

3 
  

1 
  
 



Perth 
  
 

1 
  

2 
  



Peterhead 
  
 

1 
  
 



Selkirk 
  
 
 

1 
  



Stirling 
  
 
 

5 
  



Stornoway 
  
 
 

1 
  



Tain 
  
 

1 
  
 



Wick 
  
 
 

3 
  



Total 
  

38 
  

54 
  

85 
  



  Table 2

  Cases Reported to Procurators Fiscal Which Included Charges Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Section 5(3), 1999-2000 to 2001-02

  

 

Financial Year 
  



Office 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen 
  

69 
  

112 
  

126 
  



Airdrie 
  

47 
  

52 
  

57 
  



Arbroath 
  

9 
  

8 
  

14 
  



Ayr 
  

23 
  

24 
  

59 
  



Banff 
  

2 
  
 
 



Campbeltown 
  

1 
  

5 
  

2 
  



Cupar 
  

2 
  

9 
  

11 
  



Dingwall 
  

6 
  

5 
  

6 
  



Dornoch 
  
 

3 
  

2 
  



Dumbarton 
  

21 
  

26 
  

28 
  



Dumfries 
  

5 
  

18 
  

17 
  



Dundee 
  

24 
  

33 
  

72 
  



Dunfermline 
  

20 
  

46 
  

40 
  



Dunoon 
  

5 
  

6 
  

4 
  



Duns 
  

3 
  

4 
  

12 
  



Edinburgh 
  

111 
  

155 
  

219 
  



Elgin 
  

15 
  

23 
  

14 
  



Falkirk 
  

14 
  

26 
  

64 
  



Forfar 
  

2 
  

5 
  

17 
  



Fort William 
  

6 
  

10 
  

17 
  



Glasgow 
  

356 
  

322 
  

468 
  



Greenock 
  

14 
  

27 
  

36 
  



Haddington 
  

5 
  

8 
  

13 
  



Hamilton 
  

94 
  

80 
  

68 
  



Inverness 
  

21 
  

22 
  

41 
  



Jedburgh 
  

3 
  

9 
  

19 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

38 
  

43 
  

115 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

41 
  

66 
  

71 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Kirkwall 
  

2 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Lanark 
  

13 
  

12 
  

16 
  



Lerwick 
  

4 
  

6 
  

6 
  



Linlithgow 
  

30 
  

25 
  

43 
  



Lochmaddy 
  
 

1 
  

1 
  



Oban 
  

4 
  

8 
  

8 
  



Paisley 
  

65 
  

48 
  

62 
  



Peebles 
  

3 
  

4 
  

3 
  



Perth 
  

39 
  

27 
  

68 
  



Peterhead 
  

22 
  

21 
  

27 
  



Portree 
  

2 
  

1 
  

7 
  



Rothesay 
  
 
 

2 
  



Selkirk 
  

3 
  

8 
  

10 
  



Stirling 
  

16 
  

18 
  

57 
  



Stonehaven 
  

2 
  

6 
  

11 
  



Stornoway 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Stranraer 
  

5 
  

7 
  

10 
  



Tain 
  

8 
  

12 
  

12 
  



Wick 
  

5 
  

6 
  
 



Total 
  

1,184 
  

1,363 
  

1,962 
  



  Table 3

  Cases Reported to Procurators Fiscal Which Included Charges Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Section 4(3), 1999-2000 to 2001-02

  

 

Financial Year 
  



Office 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen 
  

109 
  

121 
  

147 
  



Airdrie 
  

54 
  

52 
  

52 
  



Arbroath 
  

13 
  

7 
  

18 
  



Ayr 
  

28 
  

23 
  

64 
  



Banff 
  

1 
  
 
 



Campbeltown 
  

1 
  

4 
  
 



Cupar 
  

6 
  

11 
  

13 
  



Dingwall 
  

10 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Dornoch 
  
 

1 
  

2 
  



Dumbarton 
  

31 
  

29 
  

34 
  



Dumfries 
  

26 
  

51 
  

42 
  



Dundee 
  

33 
  

44 
  

89 
  



Dunfermline 
  

24 
  

45 
  

56 
  



Dunoon 
  

4 
  

9 
  

3 
  



Duns 
  

2 
  

7 
  

16 
  



Edinburgh 
  

157 
  

170 
  

245 
  



Elgin 
  

16 
  

24 
  

13 
  



Falkirk 
  

41 
  

61 
  

123 
  



Forfar 
  

9 
  

7 
  

19 
  



Fort William 
  

8 
  

11 
  

19 
  



Glasgow 
  

512 
  

465 
  

585 
  



Greenock 
  

37 
  

42 
  

35 
  



Haddington 
  

6 
  

13 
  

13 
  



Hamilton 
  

107 
  

90 
  

83 
  



Inverness 
  

46 
  

32 
  

61 
  



Jedburgh 
  

4 
  

11 
  

22 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

42 
  

52 
  

122 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

54 
  

72 
  

81 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

3 
  
 

11 
  



Kirkwall 
  

2 
  

3 
  

3 
  



Lanark 
  

14 
  

7 
  

15 
  



Lerwick 
  

3 
  

15 
  

7 
  



Linlithgow 
  

35 
  

38 
  

45 
  



Lochmaddy 
  
 

1 
  
 



Oban 
  

4 
  

11 
  

4 
  



Paisley 
  

73 
  

46 
  

70 
  



Peebles 
  

2 
  

7 
  

3 
  



Perth 
  

30 
  

47 
  

79 
  



Peterhead 
  

24 
  

27 
  

29 
  



Portree 
  

2 
  

1 
  

7 
  



Selkirk 
  

8 
  

13 
  

14 
  



Stirling 
  

17 
  

29 
  

87 
  



Stonehaven 
  

3 
  

6 
  

11 
  



Stornoway 
  

2 
  

3 
  

7 
  



Stranraer 
  

19 
  

14 
  

29 
  



Tain 
  

8 
  

14 
  

12 
  



Wick 
  

8 
  

9 
  

4 
  



Total 
  

1,638 
  

1,747 
  

2,397 
  



  Table 4

  Persons Proceeded Against Under Section 4(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  

 

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


68 
  

67 
  

24 
  






11 
  

11 
  

1 
  



Aberdeen 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Airdrie 
  

1 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Arbroath 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Ayr 
  

2 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Cupar 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dornoch 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dumbarton 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Dumfries 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dundee 
  

2 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dunfermline 
  

10 
  

10 
  

2 
  



Dunoon 
  

1 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

3 
  

7 
  

5 
  



Elgin 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Falkirk 
  

- 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Glasgow 
  

8 
  

11 
  

2 
  



Haddington 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Hamilton 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Inverness 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

7 
  

6 
  

- 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Lanark 
  

2 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

1 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Oban 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Paisley 
  

5 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Perth 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Selkirk 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tain 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Wick 
  

5 
  

3 
  

- 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

  Table 5

  Persons Proceeded Against Under Section 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  





1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


819 
  

746 
  

544 
  



Non-sheriff courts 
  

12 
  

8 
  

12 
  



Aberdeen 
  

35 
  

21 
  

21 
  



Airdrie 
  

32 
  

45 
  

26 
  



Alloa 
  

14 
  

17 
  

10 
  



Arbroath 
  

3 
  

7 
  

3 
  



Ayr 
  

20 
  

28 
  

21 
  



Banff 
  

3 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Campbeltown 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Cupar 
  

2 
  

7 
  

5 
  



Dingwall 
  

3 
  

3 
  

3 
  



Dumbarton 
  

30 
  

21 
  

13 
  



Dumfries 
  

3 
  

9 
  

5 
  



Dundee 
  

14 
  

9 
  

13 
  



Dunfermline 
  

33 
  

13 
  

3 
  



Dunoon 
  

2 
  

3 
  

1 
  



Duns 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

74 
  

49 
  

48 
  



Elgin 
  

4 
  

8 
  

6 
  



Falkirk 
  

7 
  

5 
  

6 
  



Forfar 
  

4 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Fort William 
  

5 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Glasgow 
  

221 
  

258 
  

142 
  



Greenock 
  

31 
  

25 
  

12 
  



Haddington 
  

4 
  

5 
  

3 
  



Hamilton 
  

60 
  

49 
  

50 
  



Inverness 
  

17 
  

5 
  

5 
  



Jedburgh 
  

6 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

24 
  

26 
  

29 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

18 
  

9 
  

9 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Kirkwall 
  

- 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Lanark 
  

4 
  

7 
  

4 
  



Lerwick 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

13 
  

15 
  

6 
  



Oban 
  

3 
  

1 
  

8 
  



Paisley 
  

50 
  

29 
  

22 
  



Peebles 
  

1 
  

- 
  

2 
  



Perth 
  

31 
  

33 
  

21 
  



Peterhead 
  

9 
  

5 
  

1 
  



Portree 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Rothesay 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Selkirk 
  

3 
  

1 
  

6 
  



Stirling 
  

8 
  

5 
  

5 
  



Stonehaven 
  

3 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Stornoway 
  

- 
  

2 
  

1 
  



Stranraer 
  

4 
  

1 
  

6 
  



Tain 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Wick 
  

2 
  

- 
  

2 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

  Table 6

  Persons Proceeded Against Under Section 4(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  

 

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


1,282 
  

1,339 
  

1,139 
  






289 
  

402 
  

344 
  



Aberdeen 
  

73 
  

75 
  

42 
  



Airdrie 
  

31 
  

24 
  

22 
  



Alloa 
  

6 
  

10 
  

3 
  



Arbroath 
  

3 
  

4 
  

8 
  



Ayr 
  

16 
  

19 
  

20 
  



Banff 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Campbeltown 
  

- 
  

- 
  

2 
  



Cupar 
  

6 
  

3 
  

5 
  



Dingwall 
  

5 
  

3 
  

6 
  



Dornoch 
  

3 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumbarton 
  

25 
  

22 
  

17 
  



Dumfries 
  

31 
  

14 
  

15 
  



Dundee 
  

25 
  

21 
  

19 
  



Dunfermline 
  

18 
  

16 
  

10 
  



Dunoon 
  

1 
  

5 
  

7 
  



Duns 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

92 
  

83 
  

65 
  



Elgin 
  

8 
  

6 
  

5 
  



Falkirk 
  

35 
  

28 
  

25 
  



Forfar 
  

9 
  

3 
  

12 
  



Fort William 
  

2 
  

7 
  

4 
  



Glasgow 
  

287 
  

306 
  

251 
  



Greenock 
  

35 
  

29 
  

33 
  



Haddington 
  

2 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Hamilton 
  

59 
  

48 
  

52 
  



Inverness 
  

16 
  

6 
  

5 
  



Jedburgh 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

43 
  

32 
  

26 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

22 
  

28 
  

11 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

2 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Kirkwall 
  

- 
  

5 
  

1 
  



Lanark 
  

5 
  

6 
  

2 
  



Lerwick 
  

1 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

15 
  

16 
  

28 
  



Oban 
  

3 
  

5 
  

1 
  



Paisley 
  

43 
  

33 
  

28 
  



Peebles 
  

- 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Perth 
  

29 
  

32 
  

28 
  



Peterhead 
  

10 
  

6 
  

8 
  



Portree 
  

4 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Rothesay 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Selkirk 
  

6 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Stirling 
  

7 
  

13 
  

8 
  



Stonehaven 
  

1 
  

3 
  

2 
  



Stornoway 
  

3 
  

4 
  

1 
  



Stranraer 
  

7 
  

4 
  

11 
  



Tain 
  

- 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Wick 
  

- 
  

2 
  

4 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

  Table 7

  Persons with a Charge Proved Under Section 4(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  

 

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


57 
  

51 
  

22 
  






10 
  

8 
  

1 
  



Aberdeen 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Airdrie 
  

1 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Arbroath 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Ayr 
  

2 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Cupar 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dornoch 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dumfries 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dundee 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Dunfermline 
  

8 
  

7 
  

2 
  



Dunoon 
  

1 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

3 
  

7 
  

4 
  



Elgin 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Falkirk 
  

- 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Glasgow 
  

7 
  

5 
  

2 
  



Haddington 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Hamilton 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Inverness 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

6 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

1 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Oban 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Paisley 
  

3 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Selkirk 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tain 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Wick 
  

4 
  

3 
  

- 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

  Table 8

  Persons with a Charge Proved Under Section 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  





1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


586 
  

505 
  

377 
  



Non- sheriff courts 
  

7 
  

6 
  

9 
  



Aberdeen 
  

32 
  

17 
  

18 
  



Airdrie 
  

15 
  

24 
  

11 
  



Alloa 
  

13 
  

15 
  

9 
  



Arbroath 
  

3 
  

6 
  

3 
  



Ayr 
  

11 
  

16 
  

16 
  



Banff 
  

2 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Campbeltown 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Cupar 
  

2 
  

6 
  

3 
  



Dingwall 
  

3 
  

3 
  

3 
  



Dumbarton 
  

16 
  

16 
  

8 
  



Dumfries 
  

3 
  

9 
  

4 
  



Dundee 
  

8 
  

6 
  

11 
  



Dunfermline 
  

21 
  

10 
  

3 
  



Dunoon 
  

2 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Duns 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

64 
  

39 
  

38 
  



Elgin 
  

4 
  

7 
  

6 
  



Falkirk 
  

1 
  

4 
  

6 
  



Forfar 
  

4 
  

3 
  

3 
  



Fort William 
  

5 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Glasgow 
  

146 
  

150 
  

85 
  



Greenock 
  

25 
  

21 
  

8 
  



Haddington 
  

4 
  

5 
  

3 
  



Hamilton 
  

36 
  

24 
  

30 
  



Inverness 
  

15 
  

4 
  

5 
  



Jedburgh 
  

5 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

15 
  

18 
  

20 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

12 
  

7 
  

5 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Kirkwall 
  

- 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Lanark 
  

3 
  

4 
  

2 
  



Lerwick 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

13 
  

13 
  

6 
  



Oban 
  

1 
  

1 
  

4 
  



Paisley 
  

35 
  

18 
  

12 
  



Peebles 
  

1 
  

- 
  

2 
  



Perth 
  

27 
  

27 
  

18 
  



Peterhead 
  

7 
  

4 
  

1 
  



Portree 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Rothesay 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Selkirk 
  

3 
  

1 
  

5 
  



Stirling 
  

6 
  

3 
  

4 
  



Stonehaven 
  

3 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Stornoway 
  

- 
  

2 
  

1 
  



Stranraer 
  

4 
  

1 
  

5 
  



Tain 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Wick 
  

2 
  

- 
  

1 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

  Table 9

  Persons with a Charge Proved Under Section 4(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, by Court, 1998-2000

  





1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



All Courts1


943 
  

961 
  

847 
  



Non-sheriff courts 
  

236 
  

291 
  

267 
  



Aberdeen 
  

64 
  

66 
  

39 
  



Airdrie 
  

6 
  

3 
  

2 
  



Airdrie 
  

12 
  

6 
  

9 
  



Alloa 
  

5 
  

10 
  

2 
  



Arbroath 
  

2 
  

3 
  

6 
  



Ayr 
  

10 
  

11 
  

13 
  



Banff 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Campbeltown 
  

- 
  

- 
  

2 
  



Cupar 
  

6 
  

3 
  

5 
  



Dingwall 
  

3 
  

3 
  

5 
  



Dornoch 
  

2 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumbarton 
  

17 
  

12 
  

9 
  



Dumfries 
  

21 
  

11 
  

11 
  



Dundee 
  

4 
  

1 
  

4 
  



Dundee 
  

15 
  

14 
  

13 
  



Dunfermline 
  

11 
  

16 
  

5 
  



Dunoon 
  

1 
  

2 
  

5 
  



Duns 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Edinburgh 
  

83 
  

73 
  

54 
  



Elgin 
  

7 
  

5 
  

4 
  



Falkirk 
  

28 
  

24 
  

24 
  



Forfar 
  

9 
  

3 
  

9 
  



Fort William 
  

1 
  

5 
  

4 
  



Glasgow 
  

180 
  

207 
  

160 
  



Greenock 
  

20 
  

18 
  

27 
  



Haddington 
  

2 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Hamilton 
  

29 
  

22 
  

26 
  



Inverness 
  

15 
  

6 
  

4 
  



Jedburgh 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Kilmarnock 
  

29 
  

20 
  

21 
  



Kirkcaldy 
  

19 
  

24 
  

8 
  



Kirkcudbright 
  

2 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Kirkwall 
  

- 
  

3 
  

1 
  



Lanark 
  

4 
  

4 
  

1 
  



Lerwick 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Linlithgow 
  

14 
  

16 
  

27 
  



Oban 
  

3 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Paisley 
  

22 
  

13 
  

20 
  



Peebles 
  

- 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Perth 
  

24 
  

22 
  

24 
  



Peterhead 
  

7 
  

4 
  

5 
  



Portree 
  

4 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Rothesay 
  

1 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Selkirk 
  

5 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Stirling 
  

7 
  

13 
  

7 
  



Stonehaven 
  

1 
  

3 
  

2 
  



Stornoway 
  

3 
  

3 
  

1 
  



Stranraer 
  

5 
  

4 
  

9 
  



Tain 
  

- 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Wick 
  

- 
  

2 
  

4 
  



  Note:

  1. All courts figure includes a small number of High Court and district court cases.

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29137 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 September 2002, whether the measures to take forward the recommendations of the Review of Legal Information and Advice Provision in Scotland  include the provision of additional law centres or greater support for existing centres.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31160 on 12 November 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

NHS Boards

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings have been achieved by creating unitary NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: When the 15 unified NHS boards were established in September 2001, our objective was not to achieve financial savings. Rather, the aim of the new boards is to secure the efficient, effective and accountable governance of local NHS systems, focusing on health outcomes and people’s experience of the NHS. Moreover, it is about encouraging new attitudes towards how we plan and work together in a single NHS Scotland - replacing a market-driven mentality with a genuine partnership philosophy.

  A revised financial framework does, however, form an integral part of the new accountability and governance arrangements and the new performance management framework, which underpin the operation of the unified NHS boards. The aim of the new framework, as described in Rebuilding our National Health Service, is to develop a whole system approach to financial management, accountability and planning which maximises the return on additional investment, simplifying the way money flows in the local NHS system and allowing greater flexibility for financial planning over the longer term.

NHS Waiting Times

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the target time is for out-patients to receive an appointment at a dermatology clinic; whether the Lothian University Hospital Trust is currently unable to meet this target, and, if so, what the reasons are for this position.

Malcolm Chisholm: The national target in relation to out-patient waiting, set out in Building a Better Scotland , which was published on 12 September 2002, is that, by 2006, no patient should wait more than six months for a first out-patient appointment.

  Provisional information for the year ended 30 June 2002 shows that the median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in dermatology at Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust, following a GP referral, was 64 days. This is a reduction of five days on the position in the previous year.

National Parks

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated budget for (a) Scottish Natural Heritage, (b) the national parks programme and (c) the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park will be in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06.

Allan Wilson: The funding allocation for Scottish Natural Heritage over the three years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is £58.5 million, £60.9 million and £61.5 million respectively.

  Over the same period the allocation for national parks is £6.7 million, £7.1 million and £7.8 million. As yet no apportionment of the national parks allocation has been made.

New Roads and Street Works (1991) Act

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to amend the New Roads and Street Works (1991) Act.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is taking forward several amendments to secondary legislation emanating from the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 which are designed to improve working patterns. Additionally, my officials, in conjunction with RAUC(S) (Roads Authorities and Utilities Committee (Scotland)) who are the representative body of all roads authorities and most utility companies in mainland Scotland are currently looking at various aspects of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, including the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings Code of Practice with a view to introducing amendments where necessary.

Older People

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Modernising Government Fund funding for Aberdeenshire Council’s Service Access for Older People project in partnership with Grampian Primary Health Care Trust, Grampian Caredata, Scottish Enterprise Grampian and the voluntary sector, whether the internet portal for people aged 65 and over has now been established and, if so, how many visits there have been to the portal.

Mr Andy Kerr: Aberdeenshire Council’s original intention was to develop an internet portal for people aged 65 and over. However, the scope of the project has changed and instead of this the council will, with £100,000 from the Modernising Government Fund, examine the use, and interest in using ICT, by over 65s as part of Aberdeenshire’s strategy for older people, Live Life to the Full. The council has chosen the Marr area as a suitable pilot area for this project.

  The Executive is supporting internet developments for older people and the Scottish Executive’s Older People’s website: www.scotland.gov.uk/olderpeople, was established on 29 August 2002. The website was designed with input from older people and early trials show an average of 3,500 visits per month. Steps are now under way to further publicise and develop the site.

Older People

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Modernising Government Fund funding for Aberdeenshire Council’s Service Access for Older People project in partnership with Grampian Primary Health care Trust, Grampian Caredata, Scottish Enterprise Grampian and the voluntary sector, what criteria have been, or will be, used to assess the project’s level of success and what the outcome has been of any such assessment.

Mr Andy Kerr: Aberdeenshire Council will measure the level of success of the project and the extent to which it has enabled older people to use ICT to improve access to services. The main aim of the project is to take technology out to older people in a rural setting and to work with older people to determine how technology might improve access to services. The project is at an early stage and the criteria used for measuring success will be based upon usage of the service and feedback on the technology by older people themselves.

  I understand that the Project Co-ordinator has enlisted a number of volunteers and that technology training has been provided in four areas using portable computers. This includes a number of introductory sessions and short training courses run, for example, in sheltered housing complexes and in day-care settings. Residents and users in a sheltered housing complex/resource centre are also participating in a series of one to one classes covering the basics of using a computer, word processing, email and internet. In addition, an outreach project has been developed to work in people’s homes and training for this will commence shortly.

  The initial work of the pilot has proved popular and the council already intends to extend the project until September 2003. Over that time the council will explore ways to extend the life of the project and the area that it covers to ensure the evidence gathered is representative of older people in Aberdeenshire

  The Executive monitors all Modernising Government Fund projects on a quarterly basis and all progress reports, including the Aberdeenshire project, are posted for public information to the 21st Century Government Section of the website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/government/c21g/fund.asp

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28802 by Mr Jim Wallace on 23 October 2002, when the incorrect recording of the three disciplinary charges of possession of an unauthorised item as the disciplinary charge of holding a person against his will was made, by whom it was made and when it was discovered.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The error in recording the charges, in the early months of the new prison, was made by then inexperienced Kilmarnock Prison staff. The incorrect recording of this information was subsequently discovered by the Deputy SPS Controller of HM Prison Kilmarnock in the Autumn of 2002.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28802 by Mr Jim Wallace on 23 October 2002, whether any other instances of incorrect recording of disciplinary offences have been found in the records placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and, if so, what any such instances are.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Apart from these instances, the SPS is unaware of any further incorrect recording of disciplinary offences in the records placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Prison Service

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) prisoners are currently serving terms of imprisonment following convictions for sexual offences and (b) places are currently available annually on prison programmes for treatment of sex offenders.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  As at June 2002, there were 466 known sex offenders serving terms of imprisonment. The number of places currently available on accredited programmes for treatment of sex offenders is 42.

Public Appointments

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider filling future appointments to the head of its Voluntary Issues Unit by open competition.

Mr Andy Kerr: As with most Senior Civil Service appointments, any future appointment to the Head of Voluntary Issues Unit will be dealt with by consideration being given to internal promotion, external recruitment or by assignment from within the existing Senior Civil Service.

Public Transport

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30094 by Lewis Macdonald on 14 October 2002, when it will respond to the consultation on the Central Scotland Transport Corridor studies into the A80 corridor.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is considering the study recommendations carefully. We hope to be able to announce decisions on the way forward later this year, taking account of the consultants’ recommendations and the subsequent comments we have received during the consultation period.

Residential Care

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27072 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 July 2002, whether it has now completed its review of the costs of care for those in residential accommodation and, if so, when it will be published.

Mr Frank McAveety: We are, in partnership with local authorities, negotiating with the care home sector on the level of fees to be paid to homes from 1 April 2003. An increase in real terms will be applied to the revenue element of existing care home costs to take account of various pressures, including water rates.

Residential Care

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the results of the review of the costs of care for those in residential accommodation incorporate water charges and, if so, what the basis is of the calculation of those water charges.

Mr Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27072 on 10 July 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual costs of the Scottish Conveyancing and Executry Services Board have been in each of the last three years and what the total cost of the board has been to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has made the following payments of grant in aid to the board:

  


Year ending 31 March 1997 
  

£88,626 
  



Year ending 31 March 1998 
  

£153,834 
  



Year ending 31 March 1999 
  

£126,489 
  



Year ending 31 March 2000 
  

£131,678 
  



Year ending 31 March 2001 
  

£128,235 
  



Year ending 31 March 2002 
  

£120,273 
  



  The total cost of grant in aid payments to the board since financial year 1996-97 is £749,135. The estimated payment for year ending 31 March 2003 is £142,000.

Scottish Executive Consultants

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies, other than the research for the Foolsspeed campaign, it has commissioned from Strathclyde University's Centre for Social Marketing.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has commissioned one completed study, other than the research for the Foolsspeed campaign, from the Centre for Social Marketing at Strathclyde University. This was to provide advice on dissemination to the Effective Interventions Unit in the Substance Misuse Division, Health Department. The contract was from January to May 2002 at a cost of £8,770.

  The Centre for Social Marketing are part of a joint team (with Glasgow University and the National Centre for Social Research) which was this month awarded a contract by the Scottish Executive (total cost £161,600) to evaluate the Lloyds TSB Partnership Drugs Initiative. The final research report is due to be completed in February 2005.

Scottish Executive Consultants

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies, other than the evaluation of the Know the Score campaign, it has commissioned from Lambda Research and Consultancy Ltd.

Dr Richard Simpson: In addition to the evaluation of the 2001 Know the Score activities, Lambda Research and Consultancy has undertaken studies covering:

  (a) business-related bankruptcies in Scotland;

  (b) policy making in civil justice;

  (c) dealing with sex offenders in Scotland;

  (d) social inclusion partnership and Pathfinder projects involving public access to the internet;

  (e) the experiences and aspirations of rural and retained firefighters, and

  (f) the creation of a rural community gateway website.

  The Crown Office has also commissioned Lambda Research and Consultancy to undertake an evaluation of the Pilot Victim Liaison Service in Grampian and Hamilton, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has commissioned the company to undertake a study into Family Liaison Officers.

Scottish Executive Consultants

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of the study into the Foolsspeed campaign undertaken by Strathclyde University's Centre for Social Marketing.

Lewis Macdonald: The cost of the research study, Changing Speeding Behaviour in Scotland: An Evaluation of the ‘Foolsspeed’ Campaign, was £81,700.42.

Scottish Executive Consultants

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of the study into the Know the Score campaign undertaken by Lambda Research and Consultancy Ltd.

Dr Richard Simpson: The cost of the study was £29,000.

  For the avoidance of any doubt, this study covered the Know the Score elements of the 2001 Safer Scotland campaign, which did not include national advertising funded by the Executive. This study is, therefore, unrelated to the national Know the Score advertising which was launched in March 2002, as part of our Drugs Communications Strategy.

  The very positive conclusions reached in the Lambda study were very welcome. Recent media reports linking the Lambda study with the 2002 Know the Score advertising, and alleging critical conclusions, are inaccurate and misleading. These reports are already the subject of formal complaints from the Executive and from Lambda Research and Consultancy.

Scottish Executive Websites

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to establish its National Grid for Learning (Scotland) website and what the annual operating costs are of the site.

Nicol Stephen: The National Grid for Learning (Scotland) web services are funded by the Scottish Executive and managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland. The web services were launched in February 2000 and the cost in financial year 1999-2000 was £245,000. The budgeted running cost for 2002-03 is £850,000.

Sexual Offences

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners released having served sentences for sexual offences undertook prison-based treatment for sexual offenders.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information is not available in the form requested: prisoners who undertake prison-based treatment for sexual offences were not convicted of a specific sexual offence but their offending included a significant sexual component. As at May 2002, the number of prisoners liberated after participating in prison-based treatment for sexual offenders was 179.

Shipping

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or plans to take, to promote the European white paper, European transport policy for 2010: time to decide , with regard to short sea shipping; what assessment it has made of the limitations of the white paper on this matter and whether funding and support of short sea shipping routes is consistent with the paper.

Lewis Macdonald: The promotion of specific aspects of the EU white paper European transport policy for 2010: time to decide is not a matter for the Scottish Executive. The Executive remains in contact with the UK Government on a range of matters including the implications of the White Paper for Transport Policy in the UK. The Executive will continue to liaise with the UK Government on any specific EU proposals to ensure that any resulting legislation benefits transport, including short sea shipping, throughout the UK, and is consistent with the Executive’s policy and support for this sector. The Executive meantime continues to encourage modal shift of freight transport away from road to water and rail, and provides support under the Freight Facilities Grants Scheme.

Sign Language

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government about giving official recognition to British Sign Language.

Hugh Henry: Official recognition of British Sign Language (BSL) is a matter for the Westminster Parliament. However, the Executive would be consulted on any Westminster plans to officially recognise BSL.

  In order to develop a strategic approach to BSL issues in Scotland, the Executive has established the British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group which is due to meet again on 28 November.

Skye Bridge

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27534 by Lewis Macdonald on 8 August 2002, whether the original Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road (A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Toll Order 1992 specified the maximum tolls chargeable for vehicles using the crossing.

Lewis Macdonald: The Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh A87 Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Toll Order 1992 contained, in Schedule 1, a table of base tolls, and specified how those base tolls would be used to calculate the maximum tolls chargeable during each calendar year. The provisions of the 1992 order were updated by the 1997 and 1999 variation orders.

Social Economy

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of HM Treasury's cross-cutting review on the role of the voluntary and community sector in service delivery and whether it will initiate an equivalent review.

Ms Margaret Curran: Many of the issues identified in the treasury report will be addressed by the Executive’s review of the social economy, which we aim to publish shortly.

Social Inclusion

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many under-represented groups are taking part in cultural and sporting activities as referred to in the tourism, culture and sport section of its Draft Budget 2003-04.

Dr Elaine Murray: Technical Notes, setting out the details of how the targets set out the Scottish Executive Draft Budget 2003-04 will be measured, were published on the Scottish Executive website on 11 November.

  The definition of under-represented groups includes: children (under 16 years old), young people (16 to 24 years old), disabled people, people from minority ethnic communities, women, older people (over 65), people living in rural areas, and socially excluded people. Different under-represented groups are target priorities for the different organisations (national institutions, Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen and sportscotland) under cultural and sporting activities.

  An exercise is now under way to compile the baseline data for each target.

Social Inclusion

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) cultural and sporting programmes there are in areas of economic and social disadvantage and (b) partners are engaged in supporting these programmes as referred to in the tourism, culture and sport section of its Draft Budget 2003-04.

Dr Elaine Murray: Technical Notes, setting out the details of how the targets set out the Scottish Executive Draft Budget 2003-04 will be measured, were published on the Scottish Executive website on 11 November.

  The definition of cultural and sporting programmes in areas of economic and social disadvantage will include Scotland’s established network of Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) and activity supported by national agencies in areas identified as high in appropriate deprivation indices assessed through the Scottish Executive’s Office of Social Research.

  An exercise is now under way to compile the baseline data for each target.

Social Work

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that good training and education is made available to solicitors and other professionals involved in social welfare cases.

Mr Jim Wallace: The arrangements for training, education and continuing professional development for solicitors are a matter for the Law Society of Scotland in terms of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. The society sets requirements in practice rules and regulations. The Admission as Solicitor (Scotland) Regulations 1991 and 2001 made under section 5 of the 1980 act prescribe the entrance requirements for admission and the Solicitors (Scotland) (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations 1993 require every solicitor to undertake continuing professional development. The society requires solicitors to undertake each year a minimum of 20 hours of continuing professional development relevant to their particular practice.

  As regards social work professionals, the Minister for Education and Young People announced a 12-point Action Plan for the Social Services Workforce in April 2002. This action plan included a commitment to introduce a new honours degree in social work by 2004. A project group was set up under the action plan charged with taking forward this reform of social work education. The project group will report to ministers at the end of this month with recommendations about the introduction of new standards in social work education. These standards will set the framework for the new honours degree curriculum.

Speech Therapy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most up-to-date figures are on how many speech therapists are currently employed in each NHS board area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on the number of speech therapists employed in NHS Scotland Health Board areas is available in Table F4 on the ISD website at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/NHSiS_resource/Workforce/workforce_statistics.htm.

Sport

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to support a sporting culture for children and young people in Renfrewshire.

Dr Elaine Murray: The Executive’s aim is to increase participation in sport at all age levels and in particular instil healthy positive attitudes in our children and young people towards sport and physical activity in all parts of Scotland. To assist that objective the Executive has allocated significant additional resources to school sport in particular in its most recent budget.  Sportscotland will work with all education authorities including Renfrew in developing these programmes further.

  In addition, since the establishment of the Lottery Sports Fund, sport in Renfrewshire has benefited by almost £3 million.

Teachers

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average annual turnover of teachers in publicy-funded schools has been in each year since 1995, broken down by local authority.

Nicol Stephen: Information on the annual turnover of teachers in publicly-funded schools can only be calculated from the Teacher Flow Survey, which has been conducted since 1996. The following tables show the percentages entering and leaving local authority employment from that date.

  Recorded Percentage Leaving1

  

 

1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Scotland 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

8% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

9% 
  

4% 
  



Angus 
  

9% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  

9% 
  

6% 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

9% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  



Dundee City 
  

13% 
  

8% 
  

8% 
  

8% 
  

6% 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  

2% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  



East Lothian 
  

7% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

6% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

7% 
  

6% 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  



Falkirk 
  

8% 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  



Fife 
  

8% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  



Glasgow City 
  

6% 
  

2% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  



Highland 
  

9% 
  

2% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  



Inverclyde 
  

1% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  



Midlothian 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  



Moray 
  

6% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  

5% 
  

3% 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

6% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

7% 
  

2% 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

7% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

1% 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

8% 
  

5% 
  

2% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

8% 
  

1% 
  

1% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

11% 
  

4% 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  

2% 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

9% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

6% 
  

4% 
  



Stirling 
  

8% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  

10% 
  

4% 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

8% 
  

6% 
  

3% 
  

9% 
  

7% 
  



West Lothian 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  



  Sources: Teacher Flow Survey, School Census.

  Note:

  1. Number of teachers leaving during the year, as a percentage of the number of teachers at the start of the year.

  Recorded Percentage Entering1

  

 

1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Scotland 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

6% 
  

4% 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

8% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

5% 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

6% 
  

6% 
  

8% 
  



Angus 
  

9% 
  

8% 
  

8% 
  

11% 
  

5% 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

12% 
  

7% 
  

5% 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

6% 
  

7% 
  

5% 
  



Dundee City 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

1% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

0% 
  

6% 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

14% 
  

7% 
  

7% 
  

5% 
  

3% 
  



East Lothian 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  

6% 
  

1% 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

5% 
  

7% 
  

6% 
  

11% 
  

7% 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

8% 
  

6% 
  



Falkirk 
  

9% 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  

5% 
  

3% 
  



Fife 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  

2% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  



Glasgow City 
  

1% 
  

3% 
  

1% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  



Highland 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  

3% 
  



Inverclyde 
  

4% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

7% 
  



Midlothian 
  

1% 
  

3% 
  

3% 
  

4% 
  

3% 
  



Moray 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

7% 
  

7% 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

2% 
  

2% 
  

1% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

2% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

8% 
  

5% 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

2% 
  

2% 
  

1% 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

12% 
  

7% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

4% 
  

2% 
  

3% 
  

2% 
  

6% 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  

5% 
  

6% 
  

3% 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

5% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

14% 
  

5% 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

2% 
  

1% 
  

0% 
  

1% 
  

0% 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

2% 
  

1% 
  

3% 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  



Stirling 
  

5% 
  

7% 
  

5% 
  

13% 
  

5% 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

9% 
  

9% 
  

3% 
  

11% 
  

7% 
  



West Lothian 
  

3% 
  

5% 
  

4% 
  

7% 
  

4% 
  



  Sources: Teacher Flow Survey, School Census.

  1. Number of teachers entering during the year, as a percentage of the number of teachers at the start of the year.

Tourism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what directions it will issue to VisitScotland to ensure that better information services are provided for people with disabilities about provision available to them for holidays in Scotland and what action will be taken in the light of the report by Capability Scotland, An Open or Shut Case? How Scotland meets the needs of disabled tourists .

Mike Watson: The Executive takes very seriously the needs of disabled tourists in Scotland and noted carefully Capability Scotland’s recent report.

  VisitScotland takes into full account the needs of visitors with disabilities, and operates an inspection scheme to assess accommodation with disabled provision using the UK-wide National Accessible Standards. Establishments which meet the assessment criteria are recognised by being awarded an access symbol. Information on all such establishments in Scotland is available from VisitScotland

Traffic

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assurances have been given in respect of congestion charging for a journey from Juniper Green or Baberton Mains onto the bypass to leave Edinburgh or travel around Edinburgh; if so, what these assurances were, who made them and to whom they were made, and whether it will detail any other assurances made in respect of congestion charges in the Edinburgh area.

Lewis Macdonald: Detailed proposals for congestion charging in Edinburgh are a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council. The council's Executive Member for Transport, Councillor Andrew Burns, has emphasised that the exact location of any potential camera equipment is still at a very preliminary stage. He has also said publicly that Edinburgh's proposed outer cordon would be inside the A720, and that it is not the city council's intention to charge for access to the A720 where the only way to gain access is by going over or under the bypass and then entering it. He has said that it would be entirely possible to position cameras in such a way as to allow all vehicles going to and from the A70 from Currie or Balerno to get on and off the bypass at Baberton Mains without incurring a charge.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will add a representative of the voluntary sector to the membership of the Best Value Task Force.

Peter Peacock: The Best Value Task Force was set up to provide guidance for local authorities in the operation of their new statutory duties under the Local Government in Scotland Bill. For this reason, at this time, it consists mainly of local authority representatives, but also representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Consumer Council.

  The Scottish Executive has been careful to consult directly representatives of the voluntary sector about the provisions of the bill and will continue to consider their interests in relation to the work of the task force and other associated matters.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of Her Majesty's Government's consultation paper, Funding Community Groups, and whether it will produce an equivalent paper.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive has conducted a review of its own direct funding of the voluntary sector. On the basis of the conclusions drawn from the review, we intend to put in place a system that enables the alignment of available funding with Executive priorities and develop procedures that are easy to use, transparent and in line with the aim of modernising the delivery of government services.

  As well as looking at the administration of Executive grants we are, in partnership with the voluntary sector, undertaking a broader more strategic review of funding for the sector. This will look at the pattern of the Executive’s own funding and at how the Executive can work with other funders of the sector to address issues of shared concern.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding from central or local government or other public bodies to voluntary organisations providing mainstream public services will fully reimburse such organisations for the costs incurred.

Ms Margaret Curran: This issue is considered by the Executive’s review of the social economy, which we aim to publish shortly.

Young Offenders

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children sentenced to detention by the courts under sections 205 and 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 were placed in penal establishments rather than secure accommodation in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Jim Wallace: In the year to 31 October 2002, two children sentenced to detention under section 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 were initially detained in penal establishments. Both were subsequently transferred to secure accommodation.

  In the same period, two persons, both over the age of 16, who were convicted of murder and sentenced under section 205(2) of the 1995 act to be detained without limit of time, were ordered to be detained in penal establishments.

Young Offenders

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many persistent young offenders there were in 2000-01.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration annual report for 2000-01 provides data on the number of young offenders going through the hearings system. The data is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 20128).